Being a traditional employee can guarantee a basic salary every month as long as you are still working, which is a better comparison than being a freelancer who does not have fixed working hours. At times freelance work can earn more money than contract work, but this type of work does not guarantee massive income.
Not having a fixed working hour/time is also better. That means that we can work anytime we like. The notable one is we can now sleep peacefully. Also a free lancer can get their money before a typical employee get theirs. They can as well earn more money. It sounds promising but having too much comfort is also dangerous. It might make us to be less productive eventually, so we can still experience a lesser pay and worse is termination. For some, I think they only develop a boredom, especially from a long time of working, so they can think of switching a career.
I prefer to combine both or with the term "kill two birds with one stone" or more specifically doing one job while earning another income. Doing a side hustle can provide various benefits such as supporting income, developing new skills, financial security and opening up new career opportunities in the future.
Combining both is not always easy because one might be working full time on the other type of job already. I won't push my self/body further because I believe that health is still the real wealth.